Road Trip
by CandC1988
Summary: Six Baby-Sitter's Club characters take a road trip!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Baby-Sitters Club or any of its characters. I wish I did, but since I don't I will have to give all of the credit away.

Prologue

_Originally there was only supposed to be the three of us. The three of us who had not made plans to do something over he summer. We looked at all of our friends getting ready for the events of their summer, and decided that w wanted to do that to. We wanted some plans for the summer. Mary Anne was going to do some kind of internship with a newspaper in Hartford so she would be there all summer. Stacy was teaching kids about diabetes at a summer camp all summer. Jessi was going to tour the continental US with a ballet troupe. And Mallory was going to take some college courses over the summer so she would be ahead when she graduated in a couple of years. That just left myself, Claudia and Kristy. And that was when Kristy came up with a great idea._

_She came up with the idea of a road trip. The three of us had lots of money from various jobs that we had during high school, enough to take a giant road trip for most of the summer. Kristy got permission from Charlie to borrow his van so that we could take the trip. It was a miracle that he would even let us borrow it considering how much that van meant to him. Claudia also wisely suggest that we hold off on telling our parents until we were already on the road, given that they might not like a particular road trip where we just took off, not really sure of our destination. And this way they wouldn't really have anyway to stop us once we were gone._

_Then the night of graduation had come. We were leaving two mornings from then. And then I saw him. Logan. My sister had broken up with Logan before the graduation, about two days before it, and he looked absolutely devastated. He had not really talked to anybody in the class as far as I could see since we had all congregated at the auditorium. So, I decided that I would go and say congratulations to him. After all, his on-and-off relationship with my sister in high school had made us somewhat close friends. He gave me a small smile as I approached him. We talked for a few minutes, and before I knew what I was doing, I told him he should come with us on the road trip, not even thinking about the consequences of it. And then I told him he should bring a friend._

_I did not tell the others until the day we were leaving and Logan came up with Alan Grey, ready to go on the trip. Claudia and Kristy looked at me with accusing eyes as I tried to explain myself. Tried to explain how I did not like the sad look on his face and how he needed something to take his mind off of my sister. I could not really explain the presence of Alan, but Logan did that for us when he told us that the only friend of his that hadn't left for the summer was Alan. Alan and Kristy had not been on good terms since they had dated sophomore year and she had broken his heart._

_And then Charlie showed up with the van and insisted on going. It was Kristy's turn to get a look of confusion. According to her, Charlie said that if his mom found out that he was loaning his van out to his baby sister to take on a road trip to god-knows-where, then he would be dead. So, therefore, he was going to come so that way he could take care of Kristy and the rest of us. Plus, I knew when he saw Alan and Logan, he did his whole protective older brother thing with Kristy, who was annoyed with it, but I also think secretly glad because she did not want to anywhere without that if she was going to be with Alan._

_So, in the end, there turned out to be six of us going on this little road trip. Claudia, Kristy, and I had already made plans for a few places we wanted to stop, and we even let the boys add on some amusement parks to the trips. They seemed just as excited as we did about the trip, maybe even more considering that this was the first time they had decided to go for it while we had been planning for a couple of weeks._

_I then decided that I wanted to commemorate this moment, like we had done so many times in middle school, so that the rest of the gang could look at it when we got back, and hopefully not feel too mad at us. Claudia and Kristy were, of course, excited to do it, but the boys groaned. It took a lot of begging and pleading, but the book of our trip was made. Also, some of our other friend's contributed some chapters about their summer experiences._

_It was a great road trip, with laughs, romances, and some fights. It was the perfect way to say good-bye to high school before heading towards college._


	2. Dawn

Disclaimer: I do not own Baby-Sitters Club or any of its characters.  
Author's Note: This is kind of AU of the last few books of the series and the other book series that was about this because I didn't really read any of them. Like, Abby will not appear in this story.

Chapter One

Dawn

Graduation is supposed to be the culmination of everything in high school. It is supposed to signify the beginning of the rest of our lives. I was dressed in the gown, with my cap already on, blonde hair flowing out from underneath it. To me it signified the end of the time I had with my friends. When I had moved back from California my freshmen year of high school, I thought things were going to be the same. They hadn't been, we had all drifted apart, but I was still close friends with all of them. Now, however, five of us were going to colleges mainly around New England, except for me, who was going to college clear across the coast. Mary Anne was going to Colombia to study journalism, Stacey to NYU with a major in math, Claudia and Kristy were both going to the University of Connecticut, art and early childhood education specialties, respectively, and I was going to UCLA to study environmental science. I still felt as strongly about the environment as I always had and was ready to make as much change as I could. Jessi and Mallory, of course, still had two years left in this place, but both had big plans after they graduated. Mallory wanted to go to Europe and Jessi wanted to go to Julliard for her dancing abilities.

But, I did get one final summer with two members of the group. Two members of the group that I wasn't particularly as close with since I had gotten back, but it was going to be a fun summer. We had been secretly planning it and tomorrow morning our plan was going into action.

"Have you seen Logan?" Mary Anne asked me, biting her lip as she looked around for him. I did not understand why she always broke up with him and then insisted on making sure he was okay. I knew it was part of her nature to look after him, but I'm sure that made things worse for him in the end.

I shook my head. The back of the auditorium was pandemonium. Every graduating senior was back here, I hadn't even had the chance to touch base with any of the other former BSC members. I knew Jessi and Mallory were somewhere out in the audience and that Stacy, Claudia, and Kristy were somewhere around me, I just couldn't see them. Mary Anne nodded at me before walking off to find Logan. I then saw Logan sitting by himself, off to the side. The rest of us were greeting each other and laughing and wishing each other good luck. I quietly made my way over to him.

I really did not know my reasoning to go and see him. If it was hard on him to see Mary Anne, it should be almost as hard to see Mary Anne's sister. But, something about the look on his face couldn't keep me away.

"Hey Logan," I unceremoniously greeted him, trying to come up with a conversation topic, "I hear you got a scholarship from the University."

"Yeah," he said, sounding a little flat, his usual accent coming through his voice, "But, your sister broke up with me."

"That just means you can date whoever you want at college," I tried to look at it optimistically, knowing that I was probably only hurting him worse by saying the stupid things that came out of my mouth, "You don't want to do the whole long distance thing anyways."

Logan did not respond, and I knew that he felt as awkward as I did at me trying to make conversation with him. My sister had told me that he was not doing anything over the summer and she felt as if it was 

going to be a bad thing because he could spend time dwelling on their relationship. I knew that she must be right because he already looked like he was dwelling on it. Before I could really figure out what I was doing, I blurted out something.

"Logan, you should come with Kristy, Claudia, and me on a road trip," the words came out before I could stop them. Logan looked up at me, somewhat amused, but also somewhat hopeful. I wasn't sure if it was because he wanted to go or because he was just happy for somebody to offer him plans for the summer, "You don't want to stay here all summer with everything that … anyways, you should come."

"I don't think I can," Logan frowned, "Me with three girls alone for a whole summer? Three girls who are best friends with the girl that just broke my heart?"

"You can bring a friend," I added helpfully. Before he could continue to object, Claudia and Kristy appeared at my side. Claudia was wearing her gown in a very artsy fashion. She had added beads to the tassel on her head and had made her gown multi-colored. I did not even want to think about the way the principle and the adults were going to react to this. Kristy, however, looked like a normal graduate with her gown and cap, but I knew that she had jeans with her so that she could change into them before the graduation party.

"Come on, Stace and Mary Anne are waiting for us," Claudia said. I gave Logan a half-wave and followed them to the center of the room, finally spotting the last member of the graduating Baby-sitters Club. I felt the urge to tell Kristy and Claudia about inviting Logan, but he did not seem to want to come anyways, so I figured it was better not to mention it. Especially in front of Stacey and Mary Anne, neither of which had any idea of what our summer plans were. Stacey had not zipped up her gown yet and she was wearing her usual fashionable dress, a dress that was very low cut and a slimming black color. Well, she really did not need a slimming dress, she was as thin as she had been in middle school and all through-out high school. I suddenly got a smile on my face as I thought about what she would do if she gained the freshmen fifteen. Mary Anne was standing next to her, looking prim and proper, much the opposite of Stacey's casual stance. This was also enhanced by the gold salutatorian sash that she was wearing.

"Let's take a picture," Kristy said excitedly as she grabbed her digital camera from her sleeve. I smiled as the five of us posed as Trevor Sandbourne took the picture, knowing that we would take a picture later with our two non-graduating friends. I could not believe that the seven of us had remained friends for so long.

99999

"Logan Bruno," the principal called. I saw Logan walk across the stage, a dejected walk. My sense of everybody should have their own independence was making me annoyed at him while still feeling sorry for him, because he had a great opportunity in his future, and with all the times Mary Anne had broken up with him, something told me he should have expected it at least somewhat. I turned around and looked at Mary Anne, who was sitting in the row behind me, and she looked very sad at the way her ex-boyfriend was acting. I knew that it was hard for her to break up with him, this time with a finality that none of the previous times had had.

"Claudia Kishi," the principal said a few names later. Claudia's confident stride crossed the stage, the principal rolling his eyes at the way that she was dressed, but not saying anything as he handed her the diploma. It had taken her a lot to get here, and I knew that the principal was as happy for her as the rest of us were.

Stacey came next after a few names, holding the same confidence gait that she always had. Her high grades in math had helped her raise her GPA enough to get a great scholarship, not to mention the fact that it had helped her make a great SAT score. Finally, the principal was about to call my name, and I was sitting there, ready to graduate.

"Dawn Schafer," the principal announced. As I strolled across stage, I turned around and smiled at my mom and Richard. I then spotted my brother and dad, who had flown in so that they could see me graduate. I suddenly felt as if it really was the culmination of my life so far.

The road trip tomorrow would be a way to start the rest of my life on a good note.


	3. Kristy

Disclaimer: I do not own Baby-Sitters Club or any of its characters.

Chapter Two

Kristy

_Hey Mom,_

_You will be reading this after I have already left. This summer was supposed to be a summer of everybody spending time together, but when everybody already had summer plans, we decided o make our own. Anyways, I hope that you did not freak out too much when you realized that I was not just going to get ice cream and am actually on the road. I will probably call you before you read this, but I decided that I would be better at writing an explanation down. I didn't think that you would let me go if I just asked about it, so I basically decided not to ask. I know that you will be mad, but please try to understand. In three months I have to be more adult than I have ever been. I have to give up my club and everything._

_Thanks,_

_Kristy_

Dawn and I were joking around about the mass amount of luggage Claudia was taking with her when I was the first to notice the two people approaching, suitcases in hand. At first I could not make out who they were, but when I recognized them, my jaw almost dropped.

"What are Logan Bruno and Alan Gray doing here?" I demanded to know. I first looked at Claudia, who was relaxing against her car eating a bag of M&M's. She shrugged at me, and then my mind flashed back to the night that Dawn had been talking to Logan at graduation. I then threw a suspicious look her way. She was also leaning against Claudia's car, eating carrots. She got a sheepish look on her face as she turned around to see them heading our way.

"I did not think he was actually going to come," she tried to defend herself.

"But you invited him!" I exclaimed. I did not need to voice my concerns of having Mary Anne's ex-boyfriend along on the trip. I was sure that it would just make her mad at me. Mary Anne and I had gotten in very few fights, but I knew that she would already be upset about us going on a trip without telling or inviting her, but now that her ex was coming along, that would be a different story. Not to mention the fact that my ex-boyfriend seemed to be coming along too.

"Hey," Logan greeted somewhat awkwardly as they stopped in front of us. Alan gave me one of those goofy grins that he always wore and I just rolled my eyes. I could not believe that they were going to come. Logan then looked at Dawn, who gave a small shrug before noticing Charlie's van pulling up. She quickly grabbed her luggage and then turned to Alan.

"Alan, why don't you help me put the luggage in the car?" she asked. He looked as if he was getting ready to object, but when catching the glare on my face, he sighed and grabbed Claudia's numerous suitcases. I was slightly impressed with his ability to lift so many heavy things. As soon as they walked towards the van, I turned to Logan, who looked at me expectantly, as if he knew what I was going to say.

"So, Dawn invited you," I said, not saying what was really on my mind, like why in the world that he had brought Alan Gray along.

"Alan was the only friend I had who did not already have summer plans," he informed me, "I knew that it would make you uncomfortable, but I could not think of any alternative."

Claudia was watching the whole exchange with an amused expression on her face. I knew she probably thought that this was better than those stupid teenage drama shows she watched. If I was the same girl I had been back in middle school, I would have said something mean to her right then, but instead I directed it at Logan.

"You could have just not come," I reminded him.

"Why are you making such a big deal about this?" he asked me. I looked at him as if he was stupid. He had to be stupid to really not know why I would not want him here? I could hear Dawn and Alan laughing as they loaded the luggage up in the van. Charlie seemed to be laughing along with them. I knew that the five of us could really have a good time if I actually let this go. Of course, it could also take a very bad turn with all the drama that could take place.

"You are Mary Anne's ex-boyfriend!" I exclaimed.

"Right, her ex-boyfriend," Logan reminded me. He said it as if I needed reminded of it. I had spent the last two weeks with Mary Anne, helping her work through her feelings on this, "That does not mean that we are together anymore."

"You would still be with her if she didn't dump you," I said coldly. As soon as the hurt look came back onto his face that he had sported all through out graduation came back. Claudia finally looked as if she had to step in and looked around to notice a couple of her suitcases still on the ground.

"Hey Logan, it looks like Alan and Dawn forget some luggage," she said brightly, "Why don't you go and take it to them?"

Logan just nodded and walked in the direction of the van, carrying her luggage while Claudia turned to me, a grim smile on her face. I could tell she was about to tell me something that she knew would make me angry.

"I cannot believe you are being so rude to him!" she said to me. I knew that her and I had not been as close of friends as we once were, but I had no idea were she would get the idea that I would not speak my mind. I was known for speaking my mind.

"I can't believe that Dawn invited him!" I exclaimed back, trying to remind her of who was really at fault here, "I can't go on a road trip with my ex-boyfriend and my best friend's ex-boyfriend."

"It is not like you will be alone with them," Claudia reminded me calmly.

"You definitely will not be," a voice spoke up behind me. I turned around to see my brother giving me his "older brother" stare.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I narrowed my eyes at him. I could hear Claudia sniggering at the exchange. It was always funny to watch me and my brother's banter for her because her and Janine had never been that close and there fights were always unfriendly, whereas when I fought with my brothers, a lot of time it was for fun.

"I mean that I am not letting you take a road trip with two boys," Charlie glared, "I am going with you."

"You can't go with us," I protested. There was no way that I wanted my brother on a road trip with me.

"I am letting you borrow my van," he reminded me, "Mom will kill me if I let you go on a road trip with two boys and no idea where you are going. At least this way I will be on the road with you, so if she tries to kill me, she can't."

I glared at him, but did not say anything because I knew that he was right. It was his van and if we wanted to take this road trip, he had to come along. Not to mention the fact that I knew I could not get rid of Alan or Logan either and I was just going to have to live with that. Claudia gave me a pat on the 

shoulder as she started to walk towards the van, Charlie following closely behind her, looking rather smug.

"What is your brother doing?" Dawn whispered to me as Charlie climbed into the driver's seat of the van. I sighed. This would be a fun explanation.

"He's coming with us," I calmly said. She gave me a startled look while Claudia just laughed at the look on her face. We had doubled our group in the last ten minutes.

"Sweet," Alan smiled. He had always gotten along with my brothers when we had been dating. I was actually starting to be glad for Charlie though, because he would protect me from the horror of the boy standing in front of me.

"I am not sitting anywhere near him," I stated as I stepped into the van and slid into a middle seat. Charlie slid into the driver's seat, giving nobody else a chance to try and steal it. Claudia shrugged before sliding into the passenger front seat. Alan and Logan climbed into the backseat of the van while Dawn took the seat next to me.

"This is going to be a cozy ride," Logan muttered under his breath as he noticed the tension building in the van.


	4. Mary Anne

Disclaimer: I do not own Baby Sitter's Club or any of its characters.  
Authors Note: I have not written on this story in three years, but I am hoping I can get it finished now.

Chapter Three

Mary Anne

_Dear Diary,  
So, I woke up this morning with Sharon screaming because Dawn was not in her bed. It really had everybody freaked out until they found the note that Dawn had left. Apparently, she had decided to take a road trip with Claudia and Kristy. And had not even bothered to ask me. I mean, sure I start my internship tomorrow and it is for a job that I had always dreamed of having. But, what if I do not like it and have to change my career path? Maybe I was trying to hard to grow up and instead missed out on this time with my best friends to have one last adventure as a kid …_

000

Sharon had been downright livid when she figured out what Dawn had pulled. Dawn had always been a free spirit, and I guess that was what helped her decide that this was all right to do. I could never imagine worrying anybody in my family that much. My dad had been trying to calm her down ever since Dawn calmly called on her cell phone to explain to her what was going on. He had tried to rope me into helping, but I was pretty perturbed myself, so he went on trying it himself. However, he seemed to be not having much luck and I decided that I could not deal with the yelling anymore and had left the house.

However, as soon as I was out of it, I was not sure where I was going to go. Jessi was packing to leave for her summer of ballet, Stacey had left this morning, and Mallory was stuck helping with a family project all day. Not to mention the fact that even if any of them had been here, Kristy and Dawn were my two best friends and they had both abandoned me. I tried to tell myself I could not be too angry with them because I had been the first one to make plans for the summer. I had already ruined our non-binding plans of not really doing anything but spending the summer together.

Then I thought, since I did not get a chance to talk to Logan at graduation, maybe I could talk to him today. I knew he had been avoiding me, but it seemed impossible for me to be able to get him out of my life completely without at least knowing that he would be all right. I was not sure what I was going to say if his mom answered the door, however, since I had now broken her son's heart twice, but that was a chance I needed to take. I determinedly began riding my bike in that direction. While I was now old enough to be driving, I really felt as if riding my bike would give me clarity and time to think about what I would say to Logan when I saw him or Dawn or Kristy when I spoke to them on the phone.

"Mary Anne?" Kerry asked as she opened the door. I could tell by the hostile tone in her voice that she was not very happy to see me.

"Is Logan around?" I asked, trying to maintain a steady tone in my voice. Kerry and I had gotten along and become really close since Logan and I had been together, and I figured if I could convince anybody in the family to be happy to see me, it would be her.

"Logan left this morning," she smirked at me, "He went on a road trip with Alan."

One of the things that had always annoyed me most about my relationship with Logan was how close he was with Alan. They had not been that close in middle school, but freshmen year they had biology together and had basically become best friends. While Alan had been dating Kristy, it had been fun, but as soon as she broke up with him all he ever wanted to do was ask me about how she was doing. I could never have the heart to tell him that she wanted him to just basically drop dead.

"Seriously?" I asked, confused. It seemed odd to me that Logan and Alan would be going on a road trip on the same day that Dawn, Kristy, and Claudia did.

"Yeah," Kerry laughed, "Apparently, your sister invited him along on theirs. How did you not know about this?"

"I …," I started to say, but since I really had no way to respond to what she was saying, I stopped myself, How could Kristy and Dawn let Logan go on a road trip with them? Especially without me there.

Sure, Logan and Dawn were pretty good friends, both being the kind of people who did not really care what people thought about them. Besides, they had plenty of time to talk while Logan would be waiting for me to finish getting ready for our dates. However, he and Kristy had never been especially close, unless talking about sports, and Claudia and Logan barely had any interactions. Why would they invite my ex-boyfriend?

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Kerry asked. I just shook my head and she slammed the door in my face.

I slowly began to walk away as I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. Maybe I should try and call them and get an answer as to why this was happening. I was almost positive it had to be Dawn who had invited him, especially since she had been the one to urge me to not break up with him until after graduation.

"Hi, you've reached Dawn, I am not able to come to the phone right now, so please leave a message after the beep," I heard Dawn's voicemail come back at me after I dialed her phone number.

"I cannot believe that you would do that to me," my stern voice came out as more of a whine as I spoke into the phone, "Logan is my ex. I am sure that while there is no strict rule about it, you are not supposed to invite them on road trips with you. Especially without inviting your sister or your best friend."

I hung up before I started to say anything I could possibly regret and called Kristy next. I really was not too surprised when I did not get an answer from her either.

"Kristy here, I am probably playing baseball. You can leave a message, but there is only a fifty percent chance I will get back to you!" Kristy's voicemail that normally made me laugh came over my phone. This time I just rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"Hey Kristy," I said, calmer this time, "I am sure that this was not your idea, but I really wanted to know why anybody would think taking Logan on a road trip would be a good idea? I assume since Alan Gray is with you, you are not too thrilled about it either. Just call me later when we can actually talk about this. I except to know every detail."

I decided to make one last attempt and dialed Logan's all too familiar number. It was the number I had dialed the most in my life, next to Kristy's home phone number. I mostly expected to get his voicemail too, so when I heard the familiar sound of the phone picking up, I could feel my heart racing.

"Hello?" his cute accent that he had never quite been able to get rid of came over the phone, "Mary Anne?"

"I …," and I could not say anymore and hurriedly hung up the phone. Maybe I had been thinking too much about what I needed. If Logan needed to get away, that's what he needed to do. That did not mean that I forgave Dawn or Kristy because one of them should have told me, but I had no right to be mad at Logan for anything anymore.

That thought was enough to trigger my emotional side. Sure, I wanted to end things with Logan, but I guess I always thought he would still be around. It was not fair for me to want him to be always pining, and yet that is what I had expected. However, now he was on this road trip where he was going to meet lots of women and probably not think of me at all.

My "teenage menopause" as my friends had so affectionately described my ability to cry for anybody or anything since we were about fifteen caused me to sit down on the curb outside of Logan's house and let all my tears flow freely. I really hoped that my internship would help keep my mind off of what exactly Logan or any of the others would be doing this summer.


	5. Claudia

Disclaimer:I do not own the Baby-Sitter's Club or any of its characters.

Chapter Four

Claudia

_Hey Stacy,_

_I really enjoy using the laptop that my parents got me for graduation. Now I can spell check every e-mail before I send it to you. I hope that you are having fun on the bus towards your camp, because at the same time I am stuck in a hotel room with Dawn and Kristy. Turns out, Logan, Alan, and Charlie all joined us for this little road trip and things have begun to get awkward …_

_Love,  
Claudia_

0000

"Awkward was probably the nicest way to describe it," I muttered to myself as I looked at my two friends, sitting on opposite ends of the bed we were all going to share. It definitely looked like I was going to be squeezing into the middle.

"I am going to go see what the boys are up to," Dawn finally announced after about fifteen minutes of silence.

"Of course you are," Kristy said nastily, "We have to make them feel welcome."

Dawn just shook her head as she walked out the door, slamming it behind her.

"Kristy …," I started, "We are going to be on this trip for a long time. Maybe you should try and get used to the guys being here."

"Dawn has not even called Mary Anne back yet," Kristy shortly said, "If you cannot return phone calls like that, clearly you are doing something wrong."

"Why don't you just get some sleep because remember, tomorrow we are actually going to be driving all day," I reminded her, not wanting to remember what today had been like.

0000

At around noon, we had pulled into New York City, our first stop. It was clear by the look on Kristy's face that the group needed to divide up.

"I am going to the Museum of Modern Art," I quickly opted for the one place that I would feel most comfortable.

"I will go with you," Alan volunteered, "I find modern art interesting."

I was surprised that Alan would want to go with me to the museum, and apparently I was not the only one as Kristy gave him a suspicious look. Before I could turn him down, Dawn jumped in with her own plans.

"I am going to go to Central Park," Dawn happily said.

"I will go with you," Logan's accent cut through the air, "A walk through the park seems nice."

"We are going to see the Mets stadium and museum," Kristy spoke for both her brother and herself. I saw that both Alan and Logan looked they wanted to change their plans, but one look from Kristy shut both of them up.

"Okay then," I uneasily said, "I guess we should go Alan."

Kristy gave him one more suspicious look before even bothering to say bye to anyone and walking off with her brother. Dawn shrugged her shoulders at me and immediately began walking off with Logan. I turned to Alan with a sigh.

"You do not strike me as the artsy type," I haughtily said.

"Well, how well have you ever really known me?" he haughtily responded. He started to walk away and then turned around, "Are you coming or what?"

0000

Being at the museum was not all that uncomfortable until we hit one exhibit were Alan decided to tell me why he really had wanted to come with me.

"Why does Kristy hate me so much?" he asked, straightforward as can be.

I looked at him, stunned for a moment. I had expected this conversation to come up on the road trip sooner or later, but I was assuming he would ask Dawn or even Charlie before asking me. First, Kristy and I were not that close anymore. Second, Alan hardly knew me at all. We never talked, and I had always thought him too immature to be worth my time.

"Alan …," I started, but he interrupted me.

"I know you don't like me. But, Kristy did at one point in time, and she never explained to me why she quit," Alan bitterly said, "You guys may not be good friends anymore, but you grew up together and for the longest time lived near each other. You should know something."

"Alan, I will be honest with you," I spoke candidly, "I know that when you and Kristy were dating, something else was going on in her life, and she felt that you could not be trusted anymore. Why she felt that way then or now, I am not sure of. That is something you need to ask her for yourself."

"She will not even look at me," Alan sighed, "Let alone talk to me."

"You guys need to figure out something," I warned him, "This road trip will be no fun if you cannot even be civil."

I knew that I also had to relay this message to Dawn and Kristy. They were friends, they needed to set aside their differences and deal with this. I was not known to be the voice of reason, but I had done it before and I would do it again.

000

At dinner, the six of us all sat awkwardly around the table. We had decided to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was fun to go there, but the utter lack of conversation was making everybody feel antsy.

"How was Central Park?" I asked Dawn and Logan. They smiled as they talked about going to the zoo, walking around, and generally having a good time. Kristy frowned even more at them and I realized that the fact that the two of them looked to be getting along was frustrating her.

"Did you find time to call Mary Anne back?" Kristy asked, seemingly innocent. When Dawn shook her head, Kristy gave her a dirty look before getting up from the table, "Suddenly, my appetite is nowhere to be found."

She swiftly headed out the of restaurant. Charlie shrugged, but then followed his sister.

0000

After remembering those events, I decided I could no longer stay in the room. I got up and began to walk towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Kristy asked me.

"Out," I harshly said, "You can live with yourself while I am gone."

She did not confirm or deny my statement, so I made my way down to the lobby because I had noticed some vending machines when we had checked in. My junk food habit was about to kick in full force because of the stress I was feeling from just the first day of our road trip.

"You needed a break too?" a laughing voice spoke up behind me. I saw Charlie standing there, smiling as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Dawn and Kristy are about to have a cat fight. Kristy looked like she was getting ready to gripe all night," I calmly said, "I do not want to claim any part in it."

"Logan and Alan are bemoaning the loss of their loves, and Dawn is just talking to them," Charlie rolled his eyes, "I feel as if I am with five girls on this road trip."

"Hey!" I protested, but not very convincingly. I could see how he would be annoyed being here. First of all, he was with a bunch of people who were four years younger than him, and all of us were caught up in our own emotional stuff, or at least most of us.

"We have to find a way for them to put a stop to this," Charlie required of me, "I do not know if I can stand another day like this one. I may just turn my van around tomorrow and tell Kristy tough luck."

"Maybe if we just tape their mouths shut," I laughed as I grabbed a package of m&ms, a bag of funyuns, a cherry cola, and a snickers bar from the vending machine. Charlie looked at my wide selection and smirked as he shook his head.

"What?" I asked, a defensive tone in my voice.

"I had always heard of your junk food obsession," Charlie laughed a little, "But, I guess, I never considered it to be as bad as mine."

I broke out in a grin at this and watched as he picked out his junk food of choice. Instead of going back upstairs to our rooms, the two of us sat in the hospitality area for about an hour, eating our way through our junk food and exchanging stories about who had eaten the most of what kind of junk foods. I grinned before I went back upstairs, I was in a lot better mood than I had been before.

"Thanks," I said to Charlie as we stepped into the elevator, "You really helped calm my mood down."

"Now we just have to work on the rest of the group," Charlie gave a short laugh. I nodded my head in agreement, only wishing I had an idea how.


	6. Jessie

Disclaimer: I do not own the Baby Sitter's Club or any of the characters.

Author's Note: I am now trying to get better about updating all of my stories.

Chapter Five

Jessi

_Essay for Ballet Across America Application_

_ Ballet has always been a huge part of my life. My parents first enrolled me because I was a very active child, and they wanted to find some way to burn my energy. Not only did it help burn my energy, but I also fell in love with it. It has taught me dedication to not only myself, but to other people. In order for a production to succeed, everybody needs to do their part._

_ It has also taught me humility. While I normally am one of the best of my classes, I have met people better than me. And they have taught me to work harder. I want to bring joy to America for ballet, and I feel like I can do this as part of this team._

_By: Jessica Ramsey_

999

So, here I was, sitting on an overcrowded bus on my way to New Hampshire. I know that ballet is not really that important to most people in America, but really? There were fifty of us crammed onto this bus the size of a school bus. It even smelled like school kids. Plus, it was just awkward.

The kid sitting next to me, Brad or Bert or something, was listening to his I pod and did not really seem to be paying attention to what was going on around him. If he would have, he would have noticed all of the girls staring at him. To say he was attractive was probably true, but it did not help that he was by far the best-looking guy on the trip. And he was my buddy.

Well, not like we were friends. They had decided to give us all a new version of the buddy system. So, every girl had to be paired with a guy. We had to exchange cell phone numbers and look out for each other. Now, since I could not remember his name, I had decided to enter his name as "Brad". The only problem with the buddy system, was that there were way more girls than guys, so some guys had two girls that they were buddies with.

Apparently the lack of another girl on my buddy team happened to make all the other girls jealous. It wasn't like I didn't already have enough problems fitting in without this added on. My roommates would not stop talking about how they wished that they were me and trying to get me to figure out information for them.

And, while Brad (or whoever) seemed oblivious to the girl's craning their necks to check him out, the boys sitting next to him did notice. One of them tapped him on the shoulder and he took out his headphones.

"Dude, all these girls think you are hot," the guy explained to him. The face that Brad gave him almost made me laugh out loud.

"And? What do I care?" Brad casually answered, then began to look down at his I pod. The boy then turned to the guy sitting next to him.

"I think he's gay," the boy whispered, in a very loud voice. I let out a snort of laughter at that.

"What's so funny?' Brad (or whatever) turned to me harshly.

"I can laugh if I want," I defensively said.

"Whatever," Brad rolled his eyes at me and then put back on his headphones.

I put my own back on and then pulled out my book, glad that the brief conversation was over.

000000

"So, what did you and Brad talk about?" Allie, one of my roommates asked me as her and the other one, Jen, were getting ready to go eat lunch. I was laying in my bed, reading a book.

"Nothing, really," I casually answered.

"Come on, he had to say something about one of us," Jen, my other room mate eagerly said.

"No, besides he is probably gay," I gave a little laugh. They both stopped what they were doing to stare at me.

"Seriously?" Jen asked.

"I was just kidding," I explained, immediately feeling bad for saying it, "Some kid tried to tell him about all the girls staring at him, and he did not seem to care so the guy called him gay, so I just said he might be."

"Well, if he does not care about girls …," Allie muttered under her breath, "Why is it always the good looking ones?"

"Don't you think you are being over dramatic?" I asked, "I mean, it is not like he is really gay or anything."

"Of course he is not," Jen said, but the tone in her voice did not make me absolutely sure that I could believe what she was saying.

"You aren't going to say anything to anybody else are you?" I asked, suddenly fearful of that.

"No, of course not," Allie assured me. But, as her and Jen walked out the door, I realized that her voice had basically the same tone as Jen's.

00000

Our first practice had been brutal. That was the only way to describe it. Sure, I probably could have spent more time in the last couple of weeks practicing ballet moves or running or some other exercise instead of hanging out with Mallory and trying to meet cute guys at the mall, but come on!

She told us that the routines she had shown us were the easiest ones that we would be learning. I had struggled my way through the best I could, but I was nowhere near the best of the group. It has been very few times that I have been in a ballet class (even in advanced) where I am not the best one, or at least among the top three. I was now in the middle of the pack.

I made a vow to myself to practice more so I would be prepared for next time.

"Good job out there together," one of the girls sneered at me, and then immediately began talking to the girl next to her again. They both gave one last look at me and snickered under their breath.

I just continued to walk out, knowing that there was no point in doing anything about it. I waited until I got around the corner and then leaned against the wall. I could feel tears burning hot in my eyes.

"Hey, don't listen to them," a familiar voice spoke up next to me. I looked over to see Brad, "They just think they are better than everybody else."

"They were right, I did suck," I shook my head.

"Truth moment," Brad said, touching my shoulder, "Sure, you were not the best. But, you did fine. I have been in class with those two girls since we were in kindergarten. They may think they are the best, but once you learn the moves, you will outshine all of them."

"How are they already so good?" I asked.

"They were here last year," Brad smiled, "And there are a lot of the same moves. Trust me, just work hard and you will be fine."

"Thanks," I smiled. I knew a couple of tears were still in my eyes, but I felt a ton better.

"And, I am sorry about earlier," Brad confessed, "I have just spent my whole life growing up with girls in ballet class, and for the most part, they are just shallow and I cannot stand that. I just hate when people make assumptions just because I do not care if every girl on the trip is interested in me or not."

"I was just laughing because they made such a stupid assumption about you," I admitted to him.

"Well, buddy, looks like we are on good terms," he patted my shoulder one more time and then walked away.

I smiled and began to make my way back to my room. I vowed to myself that I would get up an hour early tomorrow to practice the moves we had learned today. There was no way that I was going to be the joke of this program.

00000

"You were talking to Brad again," Jen accused me as soon as I stepped through the door. I just laughed a little and turned towards the bathroom. I really did not want to discuss my conversation with Brad with them.

"Did you find out of he is gay or not?" Allie asked.

"I thought we had already decided that he wasn't really gay," I protested.

"Of course he is not," Jen said, using the same tone of voice as earlier, "We were just merely curious about him."

"Then ask him yourself," I sighed before slamming the bathroom door shut.

"Someone is TOUCHY today," Allie exclaimed to Jen.

"Probably because she did terrible during practice," Jen giggled. The two began a new conversation in whispers.

I sat down on the edge of the tub. I was definitely going to be sitting in here for a while.


	7. Logan

Disclaimer: I do not own the Baby Sitter's Club or any characters.

Chapter Six

Logan

_Dear Mary Anne,_

_ I know that while you will never see this letter, I must write it. What you have put me through has really hurt me. I know that we are going to two different places in the fall, but I am sure we could have worked something out. Or we could have at least given it a try. And then, of all people, your sister tries and cheers me up. So far, this road trip has been awkward and somewhat hard to handle, but at least I am doing something with my summer. Something to forget about you._

_Love,_

_Logan_

00000

"What are you doing?" Dawn asked me, a smile on her face as she approached me at the pool. We had gotten up late and then driven to Boston and basically decided to be lazy today before sight-seeing tomorrow. Boston was definitely Dawn's idea, but Alan seemed surprisingly excited about it.

"Just … writing," I sighed, not really sure what else to tell her. As friendly as Dawn had been to me, I was not really sure if I could talk to her about Mary Anne. After all, she might be nice to me, but Mary Anne was not only her friend but was also her stepsister.

"I remember when Pete broke up with me," she sighed as she pulled her legs up under her on the pool-side chair she had sat in, "It hurt me pretty bad, so I had to write a letter that was addressed to him to make myself feel better. Not that I would have ever delivered it to him, I am not that crazy."

"How did you know?" I gave a little laugh, shaking my head.

"It just helps you feel better," Dawn shrugged, "You are going to find someone that actually likes you for you, I promise."

"Well, isn't this cozy?" a sarcastic voice broke into our conversation. We both looked up to see Kristy glaring at us.

"We were just talking about Mary Anne," I defended us. I really did not understand why Kristy hated me so much when her friend was the one who broke up with me, it was not like I broke Mary Anne's heart.

"Oh, so you still remember her?" Kristy asked, sarcasm again lacing her voice.

"I am going to bed," Dawn sighed, standing up and walking away. I looked at Kristy. Kristy and I had never spent much alone time together. It was like even though we did have things in common, I just could not find ways to be less awkward around her.

"She broke up with me," I reminded Kristy, immediately realizing I had made a mistake.

"I know, so why are you hanging out with all her best friends?" Kristy asked me pointedly, "Is this just your way of getting back at her for breaking up with you?"

"No, I just ..," I started to try and explain, but Kristy cut me off.

"Listen, I don't really care what your reason for coming was," she sighed, "I just do not understand why you bought Alan Grey. That boy is impossible."

"He was my only friend who did not have plans," I meekly said.

"It is bad enough that my friend's ex-boyfriend is here for what was supposed to be a fun road trip, but now my ex-boyfriend as well," Kristy said, mostly talking to herself, "I just wish you would have stayed at home."

At that, Kristy walked away from me as well. I shook my head and stared back down at my piece of paper. Kristy was not the only one who wished that I had stayed at home this summer.

00000

The next morning, not surprisingly had not brought any less resentment from Kristy. The six of us decided to walk around Boston together, and visit Harvard. Charlie and Claudia were leading the pack, trying to keep the conversation between the six of us going, but nobody seemed interested in actually being friendly.

"I remember when we came here as a family and Mary Anne and I got into a huge fight," I could hear Dawn talking to Alan. I was glad that she was keeping him company for now, I kind of wanted to be off in my own little world for a while.

"What happened?" Alan asked half-heartedly, staring at Kristy who would not look or talk to anybody who was not her brother.

"Mary Anne and I ended up in this huge fight because she was being all bossy and acting like she knew everything and so boring. So, I like going to these places just because it reminds me that people are all different," Dawn explained to him. I shook my head and did not say anything. Sure, I probably had more reason than anybody to be mad at Mary Anne, and yet here I was getting offended by Dawn talking about something that happened several years ago.

"Hey Kristy, do you remember the night you, Mary Anne, Stacy and I hitchhiked here?" Claudia suddenly asked, making one more attempt to get the conversation flowing. This at least brought a smile to Kristy's face.

"Oh my gosh, and you and Stacy started talking to some boys," Kristy laughed, "I was so shocked, but then …,"

"But then you go to look over at Mary Anne, and she is on the dance floor making out with some guy!" Claudia finished, with a laugh.

"And then all of them asked us if we wanted to stay at their hotel," Kristy shook her head.

"And you just shut them down," Claudia recollected, "More like ran them off. I was surprised our fake ids worked so well."

"Wait, when did you do this?" Dawn asked, clearly confused. Charlie was frowning at Kristy, and Alan looked uncomfortable as well.

"September of Junior year," Claudia finally answered after a lull in the conversation formed.

"And you did not invite me?" Dawn asked, hostility in her voice.

"You have not been as close to us ..," Claudia began to explain.

"Hey guys! Look, it is Harvard!" Charlie interrupted, trying to stop the conversation in its tracks.

"None of you were even friends with each other throughout high school!" Dawn defensively said.

"Where to first?" Alan asked, looking at Charlie.

"Better friends than you!" Kristy exclaimed.

"I think they actually have a guided tour," Charlie offered up helpfully. At just this moment, something dawned on me.

"Wait … junior year? Like, when Mary Anne and I were dating?" I added more confusion to the conversation.

"No, you guys had broken up," Claudia assured him.

"For like two days," Kristy snorted. I then turned to her, a sharp look on my face.

"I am glad you find that funny," I snapped at her.

"Hey, dude, take it easy," Alan frowned, stepping next to me.

"Listen, I don't know if I want to hang out with any of you," Dawn frowned, "I will see you later at the hotel."

With those words, she walked away. I then turned to see Kristy, Claudia, and Charlie in a brief conversation.

"We are going to go off on our own too," Claudia hesitantly told us, "We will see you later as well."

"Perfect," I muttered under my breath, then turned to Alan, "Well, what do you want to do?"

00000

Alan and I had just decided to go back to the hotel and sit out by the pool. It had actually turned out to be a pleasant day. Of course, all Alan wanted to talk about was Kristy. Personally, I did not really understand what he really saw in her. The girl had ripped his heart out and did not even care. At least when Mary Anne had hurt me, she felt really bad about it afterward.

When Charlie, Kristy, and Claudia had walked through the door later, Alan ran up to the rooms after them to go and get Kristy to talk to him. I just rolled my eyes. I wondered why Dawn had not come back yet. She was pretty much the only one that I wanted to talk to right then. Charlie and Claudia were still huddled together, laughing at Alan and Kristy.

0000

"Are you okay?" I asked Dawn later when I finally found her. She had skipped dinner and ran to the library of the inn without really talking to anyone.

"Sure," she shrugged, "We are all on an awesome road trip."

She gave a depressed chuckle that made me know for sure that she was definitely not okay. I did not really know what to say, so I just shrugged my shoulders and sat silently by her.


	8. Stacy

Disclaimer: I do not own the Baby-Sitter's Club or any of the characters.

Author's Note: I hope everybody is having a good week. For now, I am going to try and update this story once a week. So, hopefully I will be able to stick to it!

Chapter Seven

Stacy

_Dear Sam,_

_ So far this camp has been great. There are all sorts of kids here. They are really intelligent and not only am I here to educate them on diabetes, but they always come to me for help on their math problems as well! I am sad that I will miss seeing you all summer, though. I hope you are having fun in Mexico._

_ Can you believe that Charlie went on a road trip with your sister? I bet they kill each other before they are even gone for a week …_

_I love you,_

_Stacy_

0000

I was definitely not kidding in what I wrote to Sam when I said that the kids were super intelligent. I was considered a math whiz, and I could not even help them figure out all the problems the math instructor had given them. However, it definitely made them super fun to teach because they were really interested in what I had to say.

Plus, I knew how scared I was when I was first diagnosed with diabetes. Not to mention how scared all my friends were. Heck, my best friend basically started hating me because of it. So, it was nice to be able to teach something to people so that if something similar happened in their life they would be better able to understand it.

"Stacy, are you okay?" one of the kids asked me, in concern. All of the kids here were in fifth through seventh grade. This particular one was a girl who was in fifth grade and had gone all the way to the national spelling bee before losing.

"Just thinking about my boyfriend," I smiled at her, looking over her shoulder to the worksheet she had been filling out. I could not really figure out why any could want to spend their summer vacation doing more homework, but a week in and these kids seemed to love it.

"Statistically speaking, your high school relationship will not last much longer," a boy, named Alfred, spoke up behind me. He was one of the older kids at the camp, just having finished seventh grade. He was also, arguably, the smartest kid there.

"Statistics do not equal romance, Al, remember that," I shook a finger at him, "The way to a girl's heart is through good intentions and a kind soul. If all else fails though, they normally will not say no to flowers and a box of chocolates."

"How long have you been dating?" another girl asked me. All the girls looked really eager to talk about this, while the guys looked more eager to get back to their diabetes worksheets.

"One year," I answered, "Now, let's get focused on the task at hand. Don't worry, whatever questions you have to ask me about guys, you can definitely ask me later."

00000

I had not really expected the girls to come up to me as soon as they did after class was over. I had just barely settled into my cabin with a good book to read and I heard a knock on my door. I opened it to find seven girls standing there, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"What's going on?" I asked. The girls all looked to the oldest girl, Alice, who cleared her throat.

"We were wondering if you could tell us more about boys," Alice spoke up, quietly. I let out a little laugh as I opened my cabin door to let them in.

"What are you wanting to know?" I asked, as soon as they were all settled in.

"How do you get a guy to like you?" Jen, a fifth grader spoke up, "They only seem interested in the pretty girls."

"First of all," I frowned at her, "You are beautiful, all of you. So, don't go thinking you are not. Second, while you are all a little young to be getting serious about things, I do understand the boy crazy tendency."

"Have you ever had sex?" Maddie spoke up. I choked a little.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, hoping I heard the question wrong.

"We are all intelligent enough to know what sex is," Alice reminded me, "We are just merely curious if you have chosen to indulge in it."

"Well, I don't really know what to say to that," I answered.

"That would be a yes," Jen said wisely. The other girls nodded. Speechless, I really had no reason to deny what she had said. It was not like I was ashamed of it.

I just was not sure how much of I should be telling to pre-teenage girls. They probably got a lot of influence from other sources, but still, I was not sure what I should say.

"Yes, I have," I finally admitted, "My current boyfriend, Sam and I, have had sex on a few occasions."

"And do you practice safe sex?" Maddie asked me. I practically choked again.

"What?" I gave out a little laugh.

"You could end up pregnant, or get some kind of disease," another girl said wisely.

"I know all this," I laughed at them, "You really have overactive imaginations. I thought you ladies wanted to know what attracted guys to girls."

"You are right," Jen said somberly, "Let us get back to that topic."

I let out a breath of relief as I began to tell them about being themselves and talking about Claudia and her individuality. Claudia was one of the most interesting people I knew, and I knew that when she met the right guy, he would be great for her.

00000

Later, after all the awkward conversations had finished, I lay in my bed, finally able to read my book. I could not believe that the girls had actually had the nerve to ask some of the things they did. I knew that for their super-intelligence, most of them were not exactly socially graceful. In fact, I was almost a hundred percent sure that the girls and boys still managed to keep themselves mostly separated at camp.

Maybe by actually talking things out with them I could change that. "Dating" those boys I did when I was younger really provided me with some of the greatest experiences of my life. Besides, if I had not met Sam then, I am not sure who I would be with now. But, Sam was amazing and I loved having him as a boyfriend.

Besides, it would be cute if there were some relationships that started at camp. The girls and guys here were perfect for each other.

00000

"Stacy?" a voice spoke up to me as I entered the cabin for the diabetes program. I saw Alfred hiding shyly and gave him a big smile.

"Hey buddy!" I exclaimed, "How is it going?"

"It is going well," he said, giving me a smile, "I was just wondering if we could talk about girls for a few minutes."

"Are you really listening to my advice?" I gave a laugh.

"You exhibit many qualities that show you understand people well," he simply said, "And there is one girl that I have wanted to have a good conversation with for a while, and yet I am unable to work up the nerve to do so."

"Is it a girl here?" I casually asked him. His fleeting moment of panic-stricken expression was enough to alert me to the answer.

"I won't tell anyone," I promised, "But, just think of it this way. Girls are humans too. You see how easily you talk to me? You can talk to them the same way."

"You are different," he decidedly said.

"How am I any different?" I asked, amused.

"You are older," he stated, "So, there is no romantic attraction there."

"Well, I am not really sure what to say to that …," I mumbled. Alfred then gave me an apologetic smile.

"It is not that you are ugly," he stated, "You are quite beautiful, in fact. But, you are our teacher and therefore someone of authority and …,"

"I get your point!" I laughed, "I was just kidding. But, seriously, just talk to the girls like you would talk to me. There is nothing wrong with having a conversation with one of them."

"But ..," Alfred began, but I did not let him finish.

"Seriously, you are a great guy, and any one of those girls would be lucky to have you talk to them," I smiled, "You just have to have the confidence to believe it too!"

"Thanks!" he smiled at me. And he definitely did look more confident as he walked out the door. I shook my head and gave a little laugh. I certainly was going to have a lot to tell Sam in my next letter to him.


End file.
